Why Contests are Bad

Why Contests are Bad

http://jnd.org/dn.mss/why_design_contests_are_bad.html


In this essay it is apparent that Donald Norman is not in favor of Design Contests. You could even go as far as saying that he thinks such contests should be done away with altogether. His opinion is that the outcome of the judging seems to favor that of looks and appeal over that of user friendliness and functionality, or better yet - the whole package. Another way to look at this is that the judges may not have any idea whether the design has a prototype, been user tested for safety, practicality, ease of use, cost effectiveness or whether it even works. Judging based on concept alone may be fine if that is the only criteria requirement. He seems to think there should be more to judging than that.

I chose to write about this essay because of the title. When I read through it I began to think and evaluate what was being stated. While I would agree with Donald in part, I think contests are good to get the creative juices flowing especially if there is a fat prize at the end. We can all benefit or take something away from seeing what other people come up with. Instead of calling for the elimination all such contests, why not have different levels based sole upon one of each of his principles? That would be telling and quite possibly - hilarious!